(Brampton) -- Canada's two leading credit rating agencies have once again
awarded the Region of Peel a Triple-A credit rating, which was reported
today to the General Committee of Regional Council.

The Dominion Bond Rating Service (DBRS) publishes a financial/credit risk
overview (benchmarking) among major Canadian municipalities. DBRS states
that in its analysis Peel Region stood out as "the strongest financial
profile of all the major Canadian municipalities."

A Triple-A credit rating is the highest rating that can be awarded to a
municipality by a credit rating agency. While other Ontario municipalities,
including Halton, have the same rating from DBRS, there are degrees of confidence
stated within that rating and among these rankings, Peel Region's score
stands highest. This rating enables Peel to attract new businesses and development
opportunities because of its financial stability and positive long-term
economic outlook.

Late last year, the Standard and Poor's rating service acquired the Canadian
Bond Rating Service. In March 2001, the two rating processes were harmonized
and the new consolidated firm announced its Triple-A credit rating for Peel.

"I am delighted to bring this report before General Committee members
today," said Joe Pennachetti, Peel Treasurer and Commissioner of Finance.
"This rating is an affirmation of a Regional government that is committed
to long-term sustainable financing while remaining debt free and, at the
same time, providing extremely high value to our citizens. It places Peel
among the elite in Canada."

Pennachetti said Peel's Triple-A rating is based on the sound fiscal management
of the Region and the Cities of Brampton and Mississauga and the Town of
Caledon. "We have a dedication to both fiscal and service excellence,
and a system that works well for the residents and businesses of Peel. Council
should be commended for its commitment to sound financial policies to ensure
sustainable growth.

These reports are very positive news for taxpayers in Peel because basically
they reflect on the economies and financial position of the Region. This
means the Region is better able to keep taxes stable and continue in its
long-term planning to maintain financial reserves so that infrastructure
such as roads and wastewater operations can continue to be well maintained,"
he said.

According to Standard and Poor's, the Region of Peel has an "exceptionally
strong financial position, the strongest of any municipality in Canada."
The agency gave Peel a stable outlook (the maximum attainable), which "reflects
the expectation that the municipality's financial flexibility and strength
will continue to grow, led by its strengthening reserves and cash position,
ongoing expansion in taxable assessment, and management's reliance on pay-as-you-go
financing."

The DBRS report states that "the outlook for the medium term remains
favourable based on the Region's track record, good financial management,
continued robust economy and the transfer of ownership of the municipal
electric utilities to the area municipalities, which provides them with
a new source of revenue to fund future expenditure requirements."

Peel Regional Chair Emil Kolb said Regional Council should be commended
for its discipline and far-sightedness in building reserves and for its
unwavering demand that growth decisions made today will be sustainable in
the long-term. "This rating is awarded to the Region, Brampton, Mississauga
and Caledon because of years of making sound and responsible decisions.
It goes back to our roots as builders of small communities, one project
at a time - each carefully considered to ensure that we thrived and prospered.
Those values continue in Peel today," said Kolb.

Pennachetti reported that one key challenge to Peel's stability reported
in the DBRS award is the uncertainty surrounding the Greater Toronto Area
(GTA) pooling payment to the City of Toronto that has been mandated by the
Ontario Government. This edict sees more than $60 million of Peel's property
taxes annually go to Toronto with no required audits or reporting by the
province on how the money is spent.

DBRS states this as a negative because it "introduces uncertainty
to the Region's fiscal forecast, as it has no control over this expenditure
and it distorts the incentive to provide the services in the most cost effective
manner".

"Peel Regional Council has opposed the GTA pooling decision and has
also called for audited reporting on how this money is spent. We do not
feel that social costs for services like housing, social assistance and
public health should be funded from property taxes, but should instead be
funded from provincial income taxes," said Kolb.

Roger Maloney, Peel Region's Chief Administrative Officer, added that Peel
Region's record of fiscal strength and excellence in service delivery "places
Peel on a world-wide stage" since both Dominion Bond Rating Service
and Standard & Poor's/Canadian Bond Rating Service provide credit ratings,
industry analysis, rating reports and rating indices for issuers and investors
throughout Canada, the United States, Europe and Japan.